This homemade chicken broth is super flavorful and takes just minutes! Plus it barely costs a thing to make. You won’t ever want to use store bought again!
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Don’t you love when you can reduce waste and save money by reusing foods that you would typically throw away? For some reason, I get such a big kick out doing that! And this chicken broth is no exception. I only wish that it hadn’t taken me so long to start making it!
I used to cook up a chicken or turkey and then innocently throw away the bones when I was done removing the meat from them. I never thought to do anything else. I mean, they were bones after all. Why would you bother to keep them?
Then I started to hear people mention in passing that they were making their own homemade chicken broth or chicken stock as it is sometimes called. And while it intrigued me, I brushed it off because I felt like I really didn’t need another thing to add to my “to-do” list.
One day, I was reading a friend’s blog and she shared in more detail about how she made her own chicken stock. She raved over how simple it was to do and how it made such nice, rich broth. I felt myself slowly start to warm up to the idea a bit.
Then I also discovered that not only is homemade chicken broth super simple to make, it’s also considered very healthy since the nutrients from the bones get “cooked out” into the broth. Plus it’s an easy way to save money too since you can make it for practically pennies. All that finally convinced me that I was crazy to no be making my own homemade broth, so I gave it a try. And guess what? I loved it!
It was so easy and took me all of 10 minutes to make (not counting the cooking time of course). And the flavor was amazing!
These days, saving chicken or turkey bones to make my own homemade chicken stock is just part of my routine when I cook up a bird. If I don’t have enough bones to fill my crock-pot full, I simply put them in a Ziploc bag and freeze them until I have a nice amount.
The process is so simple to do and it produces such a strong, rich broth that sometimes I actually water it down a little bit! And to think that all those years I was glibly throwing out the bones thinking they were useless!
Helpful Tip: You can use turkey bones instead of chicken to make this too. It subs perfectly for chicken broth. I do it all the time and can’t tell any difference.
Want to learn how to make homemade chicken broth? Here you go!
Crockpot Homemade Chicken Broth
Crockpot Homemade Chicken Broth
Ingredients
- chicken bones (can use turkey bones too)
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar* (see Notes below)
- ½ Tbsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- 1 onion, chunked (opt.)
- 2 carrots, chopped (opt.)
- 1 stalk celery, chopped (opt.)
- water
Instructions
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Place bones in crock-pot.
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Add vinegar, salt, pepper and any onions, carrots and celery that you want (as well as any other seasonings you feel like throwing in).
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Cover with water and put the lid on the crockpot.
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Turn it on to low and allow the bones to cook at least 8 hrs.** (Cooking it longer will not hurt anything—you’ll just get more nutrients from the bones.)
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Strain out the bones, skin and vegetables.***
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Use broth immediately or once cooled, divide into containers and freeze.****
Recipe Notes
* The vinegar helps to draw the nutrients from the bones (which is super healthy and good for you!) and you won’t taste it as it is such a small amount.
** I like to start this right before I go to bed and then just let it cook all night long.
*** I like to use a fine mesh strainer, but a colander with a coffee filter in it will work too.
**** I find it works well for me to freeze the broth in 1 to 2 cup portions since that tends to be the amounts that I use the most.
(2 cups chicken broth = 1 can chicken broth.)
ALTERNATIVE: You can also do this on the stove top. Just simmer on low for 8 hrs. or longer. You may also need to stir occasionally to make sure that nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan.
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Jessica S says
YES! Crock pot stock is the easiest thing ever! I will keep a bag in the freezer for the random bones also then one day set it to cook all day while I am at work! Another thing I also do it keep a bag of produce scraps in the freezer for stock making! When I clean celery/carrots I wash and trim them and toss the ends/limp pieces into the bag. The last few small garlic cloves- into the bag, Small leftover chunks of onion- into the bag! Then I always have some lying around.
ThriftyFrugalMom says
Jessica, love the idea of keeping a bag of vegetable scraps in the freezer too. Smart!
Lucinda Nutting says
I’m a little embarrassed to say that I have about 3 gallon bags of chicken bones in my freezer just waiting for me to make into chicken broth. This recipe looks so simple and delish, that I’m going to actually do it this weekend. I love the idea of the apple cider vinegar also. Thanks! 🙂
Jaime says
Excellent idea using the crockpot!!! I am going to try this! I’m getting ready to make my next batch of stock this weekend! Great tip on the apple cider vinegar too! One thing I do always use in my stock are whole peppercorns – maybe 8 or 10 a batch.
If I’m not canning it, I cool down the finished stock quickly by placing it in a large metal bowl that is sat in an ice bath in the sink. The metal chills down quicker than other materials I find. Then I sit the bowl, covered, in the fridge overnight to allow the fat to rise to the top. I skim off most of it before transferring the stock to freezer bags. Or I might also fill up my silicone muffin pans with 1/4 cup each, once frozen the little “pucks” can be transferred to freezer bags and are nice when recipes call for a smaller amount of stock.
Jaime says
I forgot to mention that sometimes I will make stock from chicken legs – purchased fresh at really good sale prices. Right now Aldi has them for $0.69 a lb. I’ve seen frozen ones even cheaper at our butcher. It’s a nice alternative if I don’t happen to have enough bones saved up or maybe not as many as I want. Once done cooking, I pick the meat off the bones – not that there is much but some – and either use right away in a recipe or freeze for later.
ThriftyFrugalMom says
The crockpot method is so easy and simple and has helped save my sanity a little bit. 🙂 I love the peppercorn tip and your idea for skimming the fat and creating little “pucks” is great too. And now you have me wondering if our Aldi has chicken legs for $0.69/lb too! 🙂
Heather says
I’m making my first one tonight..in the pot now to cook overnight. Another top about small portions is maybe put some in a ice cube trays to freeze then put in zip lock for extra flavor in things..like a boulion cup.
ThriftyFrugalMom says
That’s a great tip, Heather! Thanks!
Heather says
That was to say boulion cube.